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Bulletin cover

March 14, 2021
CORONA VIRUS ISSUE 39

FAMILY NEWS OF
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ON M 51 S

This is the church bulletin for the congregation of the Church of Christ that meets in Dowagiac, Michigan, on M 51 just south of the city. Ordinarily we meet on Sunday morning for Bible study and worship and also on Sunday evening and Wednesday night for a Bible study. Since the pandemic forced us into not having meetings at our building we have been meeting via Zoom on our smartphones, tablets, and computers. After almost two months of worship under the trees we have moved into the building with our Zoom meetings for those who are not able to meet in person. Everyone is welcome to participate in this worship service at 11:00 on Sunday morning. If you want to participate with Zoom, contact Karl Marcussen at marcusen@michiana.org to get the information to join us.

DUE to the COVID-19 pandemic
and government mandates we
will not have Bible classes until further notice.

FAMILY NEWS

This bulletin is distributed in a variety of different ways. It is distributed during our worship services at the church building; it is made available on the web at our dowagiaccoc.org website; and it is sent by e-mail/messaging in connection with our Zoom broadcast invitations. However you receive it, we hope it will be informative and encouraging. We are not a denomination, but a local effort to encourage people to follow what the church was like in the first century. We have no man-made creed and only follow the Bible. We do not have religious titles and do not solicit donations. Come and learn more by visiting with us, e-mailing us, or calling us.

READ YOUR PRAYER LIST! There have been a lot of things going on recently among our family.

POWER FOR TODAY for April, May, and June is available at the church building.

BESIDES OUR MEETINGS IN THE BUILDING we have these meetings on Zoom:

  • Sunday @ 11:00 A.M. our Sunday worship service
  • Wednesday @ 7:00 P.M. our Wednesday Bible study
  • Thursday @ 1:00 P.M. the ladies prayer time

Contact Karl Marcussen (574-514-1400) for Zoom information on any of these.

ON YOUR CALENDAR: The food bank truck will be coming to our building April 27 at 4:00 P.M. and again Sept. 28. We will also be doing our first highway cleanup soon, so plan to be a part of that as well.

love quotes from the New Testament


TODAY'S LESSON

TRUE WORSHIP OF GOD

Sound on icon

John Clayton

I. INTRODUCTION — HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS? — John 4:20-24
A. Read God's Word — Do not create God in our image.
B. Greek word for worship — “kiss the hand towards”
Homage, adoration, reverence
C. The Bible describes 5 kinds of worship.
II. VAIN WORSHIP — Matthew 15:1-9
A. Matthew 15:8 is a quote of Isaiah.
B. Romans 8:16 — having God's heart
C. Everything we do should be explained biblically.
III. IGNORANT WORSHIP — Acts 17:23
A. Do we understand what we do and why we do it?
1. The purpose of baptism
2. There is no such thing as “God's house.”
B. Ignorance is no excuse — Romans 1:20.
C. 2 Peter 3:5 — Can we be willingly ignorant?
IV. PERVERTED WORSHIP — Romas 1:21-25
A. Worshiping nature in place of worshiping God.
B. Worshiping the achievements of man — humanism
Professional sports, seeing sites
C. Worshiping the body — fitness, beauty
Pornography, sensual movies, nightclubs
V. WILL WORSHIP — Colossians 2:20-23
A. Asceticism — the opposite of worshiping the body
Destructive fasting, isolation
B. Self designed worship — setting up your own rules
Always incredibly complex
VI. TRUE WORSHIP — John 4:23
A. The proper object — God; not anything else
B. 1 Corinthians 14:15 — Do it with understanding!
Tongue speaking is the subject in this verse.
C. Know why we are doing what we do.
Be 100% involved — read the passages, think about the message in the songs.
VII. WORSHIP IS NOT A MYSTIC EXPERIENCE FOR THE RICH. See THE BACK PAGE below.
(John referred to our concluding song: “All to Jesus I Surrender.”)

THE BACK PAGE

WORSHIP

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts in religion is the subject of worship. In general, most people both in and out of the church do not understand why we worship and what we are to do during worship.

It is important that worship is not done to benefit God. The notion of “pleasing God in our worship” seems to imply to a lot of us that God needs to be entertained or have his ego salved in some way. What God has told us to do in worship is 100% to benefit us, and that means all of us. Our worship needs to be simple, participatory, nonpolitical, and heart felt.

What did the first century church do? They greeted each other with whatever greeting was a part of the culture in which they lived. The “holy kiss” was not a kiss on the lips but involved an embrace and a kiss on the cheek. In our culture a hug and/or a handshake serves the same purpose (Romans 16:16).

As you read Paul's letters to the congregations and as you read Acts 2:41-47, what do you see the early Christians doing under the leadership and supervision of the apostles? They sang together, which in their day was not four-part harmony or solo singing. The advantage of reciting in unison in one tone the psalms they all knew meant they did not need song books and everyone could be a part of it, whether they could carry a tune in a bucket or not.

In addition they studied together and shared messages. They prayed together and all participated in a communion service. Giving was a part of their worship and everyone participated in one way or another. A part of their worship and their religion was serving. James 1:27 talks about “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep … unspotted from the world.”

Let us strive to continue to do things as God tells us to do them and let us know why we do what we do.

— John Clayton

Our sign by the street!

Start your year with God. He makes all things new!

Sign saying from www.sayingsforchurchsigns.com.

Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.

www.dowagiaccoc.org
04/22/2021